Antitrust Risks And Considerations Related To ESG Initiatives And Net Zero Alliances

Highlights

• Institutional investors and other organizations that favor environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives and net zero greenhouse gas emission goals face antitrust challenges in the U.S.
• ESG initiatives and net zero alliances can be defensible under U.S. antitrust law if they do not seek binding commitments from participants but deliver substantiated procompetitive benefits and are supported by ongoing compliance efforts.
• As highlighted in this Holland & Knight alert, antitrust authorities in the European Union, United Kingdom and the Netherlands have adopted a more flexible and supportive stance toward ESG-related collaborations.

Antitrust authorities in the U.S. and abroad are intensifying their scrutiny of collaborative activities surrounding environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives, and net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emission goals. While global regulators are developing frameworks to accommodate certain